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World Toilet Day

November 16, 2018

York Region reminds residents what’s safe to flush

World Toilet Day is a United Nations (UN) recognized day that raises the conversation on fresh water and sanitation to help eliminate the spread of infectious disease and keep our communities healthy and safe.

As part of World Toilet Day York Region is reminding residents of the important role we all play when it comes to protecting our environment and our waterways.

In York Region we have access to safely managed sanitation. And our Region remains committed to protecting our water sources and infrastructure for having clean, safe affordable water for our growing communities.

The fact is wastewater is produced every time we take a shower, do laundry or flush the toilet. This water is collected in sewers and treated at wastewater plants to remove contaminants before being returned to the environment. Highly trained York Region staff operate and monitor these systems all day, every day, performing thousands of tests to make sure our water is safely returned to the lake.

Many of us know we should never flush wipes, sanitary products or even floss or down our toilets, but did you know you should never flush unused medications, facial tissue, fats, oils or grease? Flushing any of these items down toilets and drains can lead to backups in our homes, problems at our wastewater treatment facilities and can even cause sewage to overflow into our lakes and rivers.

The point is there are countless items that should never be flushed. And there are only three things that can be flushed – Number “1”, number “2” and toilet paper.

So when nature calls, let’s be kind to our toilets and the pipes used to carry away our bodily waste and put these other items where they belong – not down our drains.

For more information or for a full list of items that should never be flushed, please visit york.ca/idontflush

York Region,World Toilet DayWorld Toilet Day is a United Nations (UN) recognized day that raises the conversation on fresh water and sanitation to help eliminate the spread of infectious disease and keep our communities healthy and safe.The Regional Municipality of Yorken-USThe Regional Municipality of YorkNews